In Black Horse v Angel and others [2026] EWCA Civ 831, more than 5,000 claimants who bought cars with finance in the past 14 years wished to sue finance companies for allegedly failing to disclose commission arrangements between them and the car dealerships. The High Court held the claims could be brought under omnibus rather than single claim forms. The finance companies appealed.
Giving the lead judgment in Angel this week, however, Lord Justice Coulson dismissed the appeal. He added he was ‘acutely aware’ the court service and Birmingham County Court in particular was inundated by thousands of single claim forms. He recommended HM Courts and Tribunal Service compile the relevant statistics and the Civil Procedure Review Committee rethink their decision not to review CPR 7.3 (covering claim forms), given the ‘vast increase in these types of claims’.
Robert Allen, disputes partner at Simmons & Simmons, said: ‘Ultimately, what this judgment is practically about is access to the courts for claims management companies and litigation funders.
‘The investment appetite of funders often doesn’t stretch to the costs of issuing thousands of individual claims, or the challenges in applying for and then maintaining a group litigation order. Instead, the route in Angel, an “omnibus” claim, brings costs efficiencies (not least in court fees) and relative simplicity.
‘Previously there had been a judicial reluctance to manage fact-sensitive unfair relationship claims collectively. In Angel, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that their individual nature is not fatal to an omnibus claim.’
Allen predicted an influx of ‘ads on social media claiming that easy money is available if you’re part of a particular demographic or consumer class, and it won’t be long before the same arguments extended in Angel are made in other areas ripe for mass consumer claims, such as data breaches.
‘As well as stimulating further consumer-claim advertising, this might mean an increasing pressure on courts already dealing with very large omnibus claims. Mass consumer litigation is likely to become increasingly prominent.’
